Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-05-28
INTER-OCEAM
ur U AND JAIL.

I'm
HOUSE AND JAIL.
- Last Weeks IxrEk.OcEAx.
Every proposition that contemplates
an unusual expenditure of public mon
eys should be carefully weighed and
closely scrutinized by the taxpayers. II
the proposed expenditure increases the
burdens of the people in one sense and
fails to relieve them in another, it should
not be made. If the relief is greater
than the burden which may be imposed
there is a bargain In it. A farmer may
need extra or better buildings for his
stock; he may need a larger granery or
a warmer house, but his purse is light
and he cannot afford these things If he
considers them from a cash basis. With
judicious management the benefits and
profits from such Improvements will
more than justify the negotiation of a
loan, at reasonable interest, and if he be
a progressive man he will make the i'm.
provements, for they increase the value
of his home and bring numerous COM
forts and convenlences.
It is Just SO in all branches of bust
ness, and the same example will apply
in the matter of improvements in coun-
ty buildings. Ramsey county has a
court house which is nothing less than a
fire-trap. In it are records o. fall the titles
to all the property in the county, repre-
senting the enormous sum of three
millions of dollars. The destruction Of
these records would cause o loss which
can scarcely be computed. A large
proportion of these records could not be
replaced at any price. We haYe q Jail
that has been condemned by the judge
of the district, and he will hereafter send
the worst criminals ~incarcerated therein
to Grand Forks, at the expense of Ram
sey county.
Now let us consider the cost of a suit.
able building for our county records and
county officers and the cost of a Jail in
which our prisoners may be kept with
out danger to their lives. Ramsey
county pays about $l400 per year for
rent of inadequate Offices, and the
county officers are scattered oil over
town. The register is in one building,
the treasurer in another, the district
attorney in another, the county super.
intendent in another, and the probate
Judge in another, while our terms Of
court are held wherever the commits.
sioners are fortunate enough to find an
empty building. The regards of all
these officers are in wooden buildings,
a constant prey to the fire fend.
A suitable fire-proof court house and
Jail can be built for $4,000. The inter.
est on this amount of bonds will not cx.
coed $500 per year; the bonds them.
selves will sell at a premium of 5000 to
$500. Here we have the necessary
county buildings at an annual outlay
that cannot be said to exceed the
amount now paid for the rent of wooden
shacks. "But," says the cautious tax.
payer, chow about the ~princlpal?" Dear
fy beloved reader, how about yourself
Will you be on or under the sod twenty
years hence? Will you outlive the term
of years for which these bonds can bt
placed? And if you do, have you evel
stopped to think what Ramsey county
will be twenty years from now? Herr
are some figures to which your attention
is respectfully called.
ramsey county has now a population
OF 5000. Our assessed valuation is about
$l,SOO,OOO, not far from two millions
The interest on $4,000 would amour
to less than M%reeJourths Of one mill on tn,
present assessed valuation. Ramse,
county is four years old, Her wealth
as shown by the assessment, has accumu
lated at the rate of nearly half a milliol
year: For the sake of argument ",
we will say that the annual increase il
wealth in future is only half what it ha
been in the past, i. e., a quarter of
million. In twenty years the assessed
valuation would be over six and a hal
millions. To raise the interest on $25 ,OO
twenty years hence the levy would b
less than one fifth Of one mill.
Now as to the principal. With an in
crease in population proportionate witt
the increase of wealth, when the bond
foil due A. D. 1907, Ramsey count,
will have 10000 inhabitants. One dol
lar and twenty-five cents per capita, O
81 mills on the assessed valuation a
that date, will pay the principal. Ii
the meantime, the people will have ha,
the benefit of a safe and convenien
place for their records, and the comm;
generation will pay the bill.
There is every argument in favor o
and none against a suitable court hous
and jail, and the taxpayer should no
hesitate to demand that the presen
board OF commissioners take the neces
sary step to secure them. It would b
a wise act of public policy; it would b
a business movement in the direction O
economy.
R.,oL1>., A..>